


The Weekend Party

by MyrJuhl



Category: British Actor RPF, Unrelated (2007)
Genre: Adult Content, Crossover movie verse/real life, Humour, M/M, mention of drug use
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-08
Updated: 2014-04-08
Packaged: 2018-01-18 15:12:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1433077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyrJuhl/pseuds/MyrJuhl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>At thirty-five, Oakley is wiser and less impulsive. He’s done test-driving his youth, and it has left him single and surprisingly secluded. The lanky blond has ventured into screen writing and is working out ideas for his latest manuscript. Keeping it in the family, his younger sister Badger is now a successful actress and is coming up this weekend for a visit. She has a few prominent guests tagged along she’d like to entertain, and Oakley has the space for it. His equilibrium is disturbed when one of the guests suddenly takes a personal interest in him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Weekend Party

**Author's Note:**

> **Spoilers:** Not really. Unless you haven’t watched Unrelated, Oakley’s character will probably mean very little to you.  
>  **Disclaimer:** These events never happened. This fic is for entertainment purposes only, not profit. I, the author, make no claim through this work as to the fictitious characters/ actual lives/ preferences/ activities of the people mentioned herein.  
>  **Beta:** None, I’m afraid, and I apologise profusely for any mistakes.
> 
> I know Badger wasn't actually Oakley's sister in 'Unrelated' but his second cousin... However, they are siblings in this story :)

There was a bell sounding from the hall and Oakley got up from his computer and sauntered through four consecutive ensuites, before he reached the lobby and after counting to five, opened the right side of the huge carved oak front door.

Outside stood two blokes he knew by their looks, but had never met in person before.

“Yes? Can I help you?” he asked.

“Uhm... Badger’s party,” one of them said visibly taken aback. “We were supposed to stay for the weekend...”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Oakley dead panned.

“Aren't you Badger’s brother? You sure look like her,” a tall man with startling clear green eyes said and turned to the other bloke. “Is it the wrong castle? There are so many on this road it's so easy to get them mixed up. Where’s Badger by the way?”

“I’ve never heard about her before in my life. What are you doing here?” Oakley asked, his eyes bulging comically before he burst into laughter, when he eyed his sister driving into the property and parking in the gravel a few metres from the gathered men.

“Oakley!!” Badger shouted joyously as she and some other woman got out of the car, sprinted up the stone steps to her brother’s breathtaking Scottish run down mini castle, and threw herself in Oakley’s arms.

“Good to see you, Badge,” Oakley said into her hair and it _was_ very good seeing her. She was always somewhere shooting something or another. Quite in demand nowadays, and he was proud of what she’d achieved. Badger slapped his shoulder and returned the hugs fiercely.

Letting go of each other, Badger stepped to the side and introduced her guests. “Oakley, this is Benedict Cumberbatch. And this charming lady is Shawna Saint John and lastly Barry Woodruff. Everyone... My brother Oakley.”

“Hello... and welcome,” Oakley said and shook everybody’s hands, stepped inside the house, and let the guests past pulling their carrier bags with them.

“What? No butler?” Barry joked as he took in the spacious hall.

“No. I’m afraid _James_ earned more than I do, so I sacked him,” Oakley said.

Benedict was the only one who took pleasure in Oakley’s sarcasm and laughed. “How delightful. Well, we’ll make sure not to encumber you with more than you deserve.”

Badger giggled when Oakley had to run that one through his mind one more time. “Oakley has a rotten sense of humour, Ben. Don’t worry.”

“Ah... Cumberbatch and encumber?”

Ben frowned. “No – but it’s good, Oakley,” the actor said.

Oakley narrowed his eyes, not sure if the man was serious. Then he shrugged. What did he care? He wasn’t the one supposed to entertain these people. Badger was.

“Why don't I show you your rooms right away? I’m sure you’ll want to freshen up at some point?” Oakley suggested and nobody contradicted him. 

“Isn’t there an elevator?” Barry asked hopefully.

“No. James took that one with him,” Oakley replied, already seeing a pattern to the actor’s use of handlers taking care of his every whim. Well, Oakley had promised to prepare dinner for tonight, but the rest of these peoples' stay was Badger’s responsibility. He’d purchased the groceries she’d requested, and if he didn’t feel like it, he wouldn’t interact with this party unless it couldn’t be helped.

“A room for one of the guys to the left,” Oakley said when they reached the landing and turned down a corridor with three rooms.

“I’ll take that one, thank you very much,” Barry said and immediately went inside and inspected his lodgings.

“Typical,” Shawna said.

“Another one for the ladies to the left as well,” Oakley said, and Shawna accepted that offer.

“Mine on the right as always," Badger said and smiled. She knew Oakley wouldn’t have offered that room to the others first; making sure she got her usual accommodations.

That left Oakley with Benedict.

“And a spare for me?” Ben asked. “A walk in closet will do, too.”

Oakley couldn’t help smile. “Your room is downstairs. Come.”

“I hope I’m not occupying _your_ room, Oakley,” Ben said matter-of-factly.

“No. Don't worry. You’ll get the one with a telly.”

Ben laughed. “I knew there was catch. Oh, this old house can actually receive television programs?”

“Yes. I even have a sex channel. It’s hysteric in Morse code,” Oakley said only to hear Ben laugh some more. Eventually, they were down stairs once more and Oakley guided the actor past the kitchen. “Sorry, it’s a bit secluded.”

“No worries. I don’t mind not sleeping next to certain people.”

Oakley smirked but didn’t say anything. “Here we are. I hope it’s okay.”

Ben stepped inside and turned around with a small whistle. “Wow... it’s quite all right.” He stepped to the windows and looked out. “A garden... or is it a park?”

Oakley shrugged. “I don't know. It’s not really... I just... enjoy it.”

“You have neighbours who tend it for you?”

“No, I mow the grass and cut the bushes into the shape of...” Oakley stopped talking. This was a standard response with a very rude punch line, but Ben didn’t seem like the kind of person he’d really subject that to.

“Of what?”

“Elephants... I’m just very lousing at crafting animals,” Oakley quickly said and turned. “Enjoy your stay, Benedict.”

“Thanks... Oakley,” the actor replied, as Oakley closed the door behind him.

*

A few hours later, Oakley was busy making dinner. Badger’s party had taken a drive around and returned in time for dinner. Everything was almost ready and just needed to be served. Benedict surprised him by showing up in the kitchen to inspect the progress of dinner. Before he knew it, the actor was lending a hand for that and in unison; they put the dishes on the long wooden table in Oakley’s impressive dining room. 

“It’s kind of a small buffet,” Oakley explained, “So help yourselves and I hope you like it.” All the guests grabbed a plate and impatiently waited for each other to finish so they could have at the courses.

“Everything looks really good,” Benedict said and stacked food on his plate.

Shawna was the typical calorie counter and Oakley wasn’t surprised seeing her only pick lighter items like salad and... salad. Well, her loss, but he also knew she couldn’t afford to let go for a whole weekend or she would pay for it later. Personally, he liked seeing people with a bit of curves because he was so thin himself having a very high metabolism and probably smoked too much.

During dinner, Oakley didn’t converse much. He mainly just listened to Badger’s friends exchange anecdotes and other naughty tales from the various projects they happened to be involved in at the moment.

Benedict was soon due to film season four of Sherlock Holmes. Oakley had only seen the first episode of season one, and Benedict looked nothing like the detective... However, he thought their wit and perception of timing were fairly similar. 

As suspected, Barry was a superficial fluff ball, and Oakley wondered why on earth Badge would be friends with this arse hole. But he was quite good looking so Oakley imagined she was attracted to him anyway. And then there was Shawna. She was... well. Beautiful of course, but average. None of her work had impressed Oakley.

“We’re going to the beach tomorrow, Oakley,” Badger suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

“Oh. Isn’t it cold? You could just use the pool?”

“No, Oaks. Have you even cleaned it lately? It’s been sunny most of May, so it’s a fair chance the water will be warm enough,” Badger said.

“Nevertheless, count me out. I need to get more writing done.”

“Didn’t invite you, bro,” Badger teased.

Oakley grinned. “That’s true.”

After dinner was cleared away, Badger and her guests retreated for the evening. They were all worn out from the travel more or less and Oakley returned to his office/bedroom in the hopes to get some writing done, but he found himself asleep across his laptop at 2am in the morning and staggered to bed to spend the rest of the night comfortably.

*

In the morning, Oakley woke up with a jerk. Blinking sleepily, he tried to look out the window but his brain was not aware it was supposed to wake up, too, and his eyes smarted too much. Closing his eyes, he dropped down on his back. A loud groan escaped him. He’d slept like the dead. Slowly, he sat back up again and rubbed his scalp. His hair was a tangled mess and, pulling his morning robe from the foot end of the bed, he dragged it along like a teddy bear in search of his bathroom.

Only when the water sloshed down all over his body did he start to feel human again. His hair was still in wild disarray when he found his way to the kitchen. Automatically, he began fiddling with the coffee maker when he realised someone had beat him to it. Turning distrustfully, he saw Benedict sitting on a stool by the small table by the window. He waved at him, as he flipped a page in a newspaper. _Oakley’s_ newspaper.

“Good morning,” he said quietly, but Oakley flinched just the same.

“Just... don't read my paper. I prefer to read it myself... first,” he said, but felt a little petty somehow.

“Wouldn’t dream of it. This is my paper, Oakley,” Benedict said. “I put yours on the seat in front of mine.”

“Oh...” Oakley responded surprised. “Oh... Uhm...”

“Would you like some coffee?” Ben asked.

“Yeah, that would be great,” Oakley said and noticed the extra cup on the table. Sugar, cream, and spoons were already put there, too... wow. Oakley crossed the floor and removed the paper from the seat. Then he sat down opposite Ben, and let the actor pour him a cup of coffee. Oakley added the extras, stirred his beverage slowly, and looked out the window. 

Geese marched all over the lawn out there and he sighed. They shat everywhere, but he supposed they had a right to be here as well. They flanked stumbling goslings and it was a cute scenery... from a distance. Oakley had learned the hard way not to approach goslings in the company of their parents. He still had the scar on his hand to prove it.

“So, you’re a writer? Anything I’ve seen?” Benedict asked.

Oakley had gotten that question a lot throughout the years and by now, he’d quickly figured out the easiest way to answer it was a simple: “No.”

“Oh. I think I saw that movie,” Ben said.

Oakley looked at him with a big question mark plastered all over his face.

“Dr. No... James Bond... Oh, c’mon, Oakley, be a sport!” Benedict laughed.

Oakley had to laugh, too. “Okay. You got me.” After a sip or three, he sat down his cup. “I had a few scripts for sale and I did sell some. However, one of them was completely re-written and, when it was finally filmed, I couldn’t recognise much from the original.”

Ben nodded. “It happens. I once read this script and I fell in love. The film was made and afterwards... It was cut in a way that didn’t correspond to the way it was in the script. So – I’ve decided to never watch my own movies again. I just have to make sure I feel I’ve delivered a satisfactory job, and then I move on.”

Putting his lips to the rim of his cup, Oakley gazed out of the window again. Ben could relate. How refreshing.

“Which script was filmed, Oakley?” Ben asked.

Smiling, Oakley sat down the cup and shook his head.

“You knew I’d ask, right?”

“Yeah, I knew you would...”

“Morning!” Badger interrupted them and Oakley rolled his eyes.

“Saved by the bell,” he murmured, but Ben sent him a look that promised he’d get back to the subject later.

Oakley picked up his cup and got up. Going for the cupboard, he pulled down a box of cereal and dropped some in a bowl. Pouring milk into the mix, he grabbed a spoon and left the kitchen. He didn’t feel like participating in a scenario with each guest showing up at a thirty minutes interval. He had other matters to attend to.

*

“Will you eat with us, Oakley?” Badger stuck her head in.

Oakley looked up and took a moment to stretch, “I suppose I should eat something.”

“Good. Dinner is ready.”

Oakley saved his work, and stubbed out his cigarette before he left his room. He hadn’t really seen any of them all day, so he supposed they’d had fun at the beach.

Tonight the table looked significantly different. Several bottles of wine were lined up on the table amongst the china and cutlery. Each plate was already served so all they had to do was sit down and dig in.

“Wine, Oakley?” Ben asked, and Oakley nodded. Ben sat across from him with Badge as dinner partner, Oakley had Shawna. Barry sat at the end of the table making eyes at Badge the entire evening. 

“Yes, please. Red.”

The food was excellent and Oakley wondered who had cooked. But the worst that could happen would be Barry taking the honours, and Oakley didn’t really need to hear him rattle on how he bested Gordon Ramsay.

Oakley mostly looked at Ben throughout the evening. He supposed he should have concentrated on talking to Shawna, but each attempt to talk stunted because she had no intellectual interests except her work which quickly got old. Oakley used to be able to make people talk about themselves – any topic really. But his cleverness was not going to help him through the painful small talk on Shawna’s level. Instead, he got a little drunk, and grabbed every opportunity to talk to Ben instead. 

“Everyone done?” Ben suddenly asked. “Let’s have dessert!”

Oakley perked visibly. “What’s for dessert?” he asked, not recalling he’d bought pudding.

“It’s a surprise,” Ben said and waggled his eye brows. Oakley smiled at him, and Ben smiled back.

“Oh, you naughty boy. Did you smuggle in some weed? I could do with a hash brownie,” Barry asked.

Ben frowned. “No. What made you say that?” Quickly, he darted a look at Oakley who shrugged. “Fine, I have a bag of giggle tobacco in my room.”

“Oakley doesn’t care. He smoked so much pot when we were younger that...” Badger shared with the group.

“That’s quite all right, Badge,” Oakley interrupted his sister.

“That what?”

“We crashed a car into a ditch in Italy... and he had a terrible row with daddy.”

“As one does in any normal dysfunctional family,” Ben said, unimpressed, and Oakley sent him a grateful look.

“We were not dysfunctional,” Badger protested, “Were we, Oak?”

“Nah – no more than to be expected. We got over it.” Ben was still looking at Oakley when his eyes returned to the actor.

“I need a smoking break,” Oakley said and left the table. No one else chorused that, so he supposed he was the only one smoking. Badger did it occasionally, but he hadn’t seen her smoke while she’d been here. Maybe she was pregnant. Oakley snorted. Well, it wasn’t unlikely. She was also past thirty. She’d have pretty babies if Barry did the honours. Oakley just didn’t fancy the idea of actually becoming related to the guy. 

When he came back, he saw cheesecake was on the menu and he grunted approvingly. “Love it. Love it. Love it.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Ben said and Oakley slowly realised that this dinner was made by Ben.

“How many slices can I have?” he asked cheekily.

“I’ve got two more, so eat - till - you - _puke_ ,” Ben stressed.

“Why did you buy so many?” Barry asked.

“Because I knew Shawna wouldn’t even breathe on it so it’s all that much more for me... I mean us,” Ben said and winked at Oakley.

“You bought fruit,” Oakley said and pointed to the bowl of fresh bananas, apples and kiwis.

“Yes, and Shawna said that’s what she’d like when I asked her last week,” Ben said and shrugged.

“Yeah, but I’m more in a strawberry/watermelon mood right now,” she said looking a little embarrassed.

“Less calories?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you really have weed in your room?” Oakley asked.

Ben smirked. “No. I’m not that kind of guest.”

Oakley felt Ben’s green eyes bore into his own for several more seconds before he looked away and dug into his dessert.

“Why don’t we go to the library? I’m sure Oakley can spare us a glass of cognac,” Badger suggested when everyone was done with dessert, and the dirty dishes and china dutifully were cleared away in the dishwasher.

“I have so many. Irish coffee? Whiskey, Bailey’s... name it and I probably have it,” Oakley said.

“Brandy for me,” Ben said.

“Everything’s over in the cabinet. Pick your bottle,” Oakley said and went himself to pick out a drink. “Can’t guarantee how old it is, though, mind you,” he chuckled.

“The older the better, right”? Barry said and poured different stuff into a glass.

“Careful with that,” Ben warned him, but Barry just laughed.

“Have fun tomorrow on the trip home,” Ben said under his breath, clearly not giving a damn whether Barry got a hangover from hell or not. Oakley went to a worn comfy leather couch and nursed his drink, sighing happily. He had to admit he was enjoying himself more than he thought he would. Besides, it was lovely seeing Badger.

Conversation was loose and all over the place. Oakley got updated on Badge’s projects and listened half-heartedly when she claimed she knew this producer who would love to read his last script. Oakley just waved at her. He’d heard it all before. He didn’t think she could charm some producer just because he was her brother.

Finally, Badger’s guests decided they’d had enough and she motioned them to break up the party and go to bed.

“It was a great evening. Great cooking... etc. etc.,” Badger slurred and embraced Oakley. “G’nite brother mine.” 

Oakley got up and kissed her cheek. “Sleep tight, Badge.”

Then she grabbed Shawna’s arm to steady her, as they both headed for the staircase to go and find their rooms. 

“I’ll dash off, too,” Barry said and eyed Benedict questioningly.

“I’ll manage, Barry. Just finishing this in no hurry. Would be a shame to chug it, wouldn’t you say?” he said.

Barry slurred uncomprehendingly. “Aight. Good night.”

Oakley didn’t respond and sat back down.

*

Ben took his tumbler and went to sit next to Oakley on the couch. Oakley smiled uneasily by the sudden close proximity. He certainly wasn’t used to people he barely knew came and sat so close their thighs connected.

“Are you aware you’ve been eye fucking me all night?” Ben whispered leaning in.

Oakley jerked in shock. “I... No! I’m... I wasn’t aware. I’m terribly sorry.” He laughed completely put on the spot. “I...”

“Don't be alarmed. I just thought I’d tell you because I grasped you weren’t doing it to get a reaction. You just couldn’t control your own attraction towards me.”

“What? Oh, please... I’m not attracted to you.”

“So you’re not gay?” Ben deducted.

“What the hell? No... I’m... I’m...” Oakley looked away. Perhaps he was too drunk for this kind of conversation.

Ben leant back a little and watched Oakley trying to make heads and tales of the sudden ‘accusation’ coming out of nowhere.

“You’re shaking,” Benedict said and took Oakley’s glass from his hands.

“Fuck...” Oakley cursed and turned to pick a cigarette from the package on the small glass table next to the couch.

“Don't do that,” Benedict tutted.

Oakley already had a fag between his fingers, a lighter in the other hand. “And why not?” Oakley asked.

“You’ll have smoke all over your breath.”

“Obviously.”

“It’ll be like kissing an ashtray.”

Oakley barked out a laugh in surprise. “Oh, so you assume we’ll...” he pointed cigarette adorned fingers between the two of them. “...kiss...?”

Benedict leaned sideways against the couch, resting his head in his palm. “Well, kissing is always an entertaining way to spend time, don’t you think?”

“I haven’t kissed someone in a very long time,” Oakley scoffed and then pressed his lips together. “Not that it’s any of your business...”

“Of course not,” Benedict said and smiled, looking like he was greatly entertained whether or not they kissed.

“Well, I’m going to...” Oakley indicated the lighter towards the smoke, “... _smoke_ this.”

“Suit yourself. You’ll miss out on a great kiss,” Benedict challenged him.

“I was not going to kiss you in the first place!” Oakley pointed out.

“’Course you were,” Benedict teased. “You thought about it all night.”

“Ahhh...” Oakley said and triumphantly lit his fag. “So you’re a mind reader as well?” Benedict laughed, and Oakley felt a little overwhelmed. “You’re just fishing for something? Having trouble getting into your latest movie character somehow?”

“Nope,” Benedict replied and smiled that infuriating charming smile at Oakley. “You’re a natural blond? I mean all over?”

Oakley sucked deeply on his fag and exhaled the smoke towards Benedict on purpose. “Yep. Pubes, under my arms, my nose. Everywhere.”

Benedict laughed, and Oakley felt his lips turn up. “Shit, you smiled...” Benedict laughed.

Oakley put the cigarette in the ashtray on the glass table and pulled up his knees. His slender arms wrapped around them and he rubbed his arms. “Shall I torch the fireplace?”

“By all means! Let’s barbecue the whole house,” Benedict agreed. “May I have the honour?” he asked.

“You’re fucking polite, Benedict,” Oakley mused.

“I know. It’s a bad habit, but I’m working on it.”

“Not many actors I’ve come across are this polite. It’s really great.”

“I’m glad we finally broke the ice, Oakley.”

“Have we?”

Benedict knelt in front of the fireplace. As he worked to ignite the old thing, he looked back at Oakley and nodded. “Come and sit with me, Oakley.”

Oakley slithered down the couch and crawled towards Ben on his hands and knees.

Ben grinned, “You’re supposed to be a panther, right?”

“Probably just a tabby, but I’ll take it,” Oakley said but hadn’t really thought about it. “Urgh... hurts my knees. Should have rugs all over the place. Fur... for hot steaming sex in front of the zoo bonfire.”

“Yeah. That’s the correct way of doing it, I suppose.”

“But this isn’t a sexy fireplace,” Oakley said. “It’ll more likely kill us slowly from the smoke.”

“Well, your cigarette will definitely kill you slowly,” Ben mused.

“Quite,” Oakley said softly and stared hypnotised into the flames, toasting his skin. A few minutes passed and then he swivelled his head towards Ben and looked at him. "How about that kiss?”

Ben smiled and shrugged. “I was just teasing you.”

“I really want to,” Oakley said and licked his lips.

“Fuck...” Ben said.

Oakley crawled into Ben’s lap and sat there for a few moments. Ben grabbed his hair and kneaded the curls for a moment before he leaned in and kissed Oakley.

When Ben retreated, Oakley smiled and asked, “Was that it?”

“That's it. I timed us.”

“Ha...” Oakley grunted. “I’m not really drunk,” he whispered, leaned in, and captured Ben’s lips, pressing harder. This was the first time he’d ever kissed a guy, and so far, he liked kissing the actor. Simultaneously, they parted their lips and Oakley slipped his tongue inside Ben’s mouth with a small moan. Letting go of Ben with a slick sound, he smiled and leaned in for another sound kiss that turned into many more. Oakley couldn’t help but getting carried away in the process.

“I’m getting a hard on... just so you know,” he said the next time they separated.

“Mmmm,” Ben hummed with his eyes closed. “I noticed.” His large hands cupped Oakley’s arse and pulled his groin closer to his. “What do you think about that?”

Oakley laughed softly and coughed. “You, too, Sherlock?”

“Oh, don’t do that, Oakley,” Ben tutted.

“Sorry. But when I think about it, you were quite sexy in Sherlock, Benjamin...”

“Benedict,” Ben corrected him.

“I know,” Oakley smiled into the next kiss. “Are we going to fuck?”

“Wow...” Ben laughed.

“I’m just curious!” Oakley said and immediately pulled away and looked at Ben. 

“Have you any idea how to fuck, Oakley?”

“What?” Oakley asked and laughed. “Of course I have! I’m not exactly a virgin. Gods,” Oakley scoffed.

“Juuuust curious,” Ben smirked. “Then you’re the master if we decided to fuck each other, right?”

“Oh,” Oakley’s befuddled mind suddenly realised what Ben was hinting at. And yes, he had no clue how two men had sex. Well, the basics weren’t exactly rocket science as to which socket the appliance fit in, but... “No, I’m not a fucking master at it. I used to... do it a lot... but I sort of gave it up - or sex gave up on me, I think.”

“That’s almost cute,” Ben said and kissed Oakley’s ear. “You have the sweetest little ears I’ve ever seen on a guy.”

“What?” Oakley turned his head and saw Ben’s lips there. “And your mouth looks like it’s made for cock sucking...”

Ben smiled. “You want me to suck your dick?”

“Been thinking about it all evening when I ‘eye fucked you’,” Oakley said with a little smile.

“You did, didn’t you?”

“Oooh, yes,” Oakley moaned. “Yeah. Been thinking about you ever since you stepped into my home. And I also think we’re talking... too... much,” Oakley slurred, sounding drunker now than a second ago.

Ben laughed and pushed Oakley off his lap. Then he got up and reached down to pull his host up by the hand.

Responding predictably, Oakley grabbed Ben’s hand and was hoisted to his feet. “Jump up, Oak,” Ben ordered him, and Oakley obeyed and wrapped his long legs around Ben’s waist. “Let’s get you to bed,” Bed whispered in his ear.

“Yes. Will you join me?” Oakley asked, but Ben didn’t reply.

“Which direction, darling?” Ben asked instead.

“That way,” Oakley replied and tightened his grip around Ben.

“All right. Only one way to find out,” Ben mused and went straight through various rooms until he came to a corridor. A door was ajar, so he gathered that could very likely be Oakley’s bedroom. When he pushed the door open, he immediately saw that he’d found the right one. This was definitely the room someone like Oakley would be living in.

Walking towards the bed, he gently dropped Oakley on his back along the end of the bed. Oakley pulled his legs up and flung an arm across his eyes. A soft giggle emanated from him and then he became still.

Ben smiled and gently removed Oakley’s clothes down to his underwear. Then he pulled down the duvet and fetched the sleeping man by simply dragging him by the arms towards the head of the bed. Grabbing the duvet, he put it over Oakley’s body.

“You’re so beautiful,” Ben said and smiled. Bending, he kissed Oakley’s sleeping face and left.

*

Sunday morning, Oakley sat up with a start. Gods, he hated waking up like this, but that’s how his system worked. Something was dying to jog his memory from what happened last night and, vaguely, he remembered he’d embarrassed himself in front of Cumberbatch.

“Oh, fucking hell!” he fell back on his pillow and then he sat up again. “What the...” he looked down at himself, he was in bed; he wasn’t in his pyjamas. He couldn’t remember how he got in bed. Darting his eyes to the other side of the bed, he saw the pillows there were still immaculately untouched, so he’d slept all alone. “Thank fuck for that,” he mused, because he wouldn’t have remembered... “Stop right there,” Oakley laughed feeling very uncomfortable. Because who exactly would have been joining him in bed?

Oakley felt a slight headache making its presence, but nothing worse than some painkillers could take care of. “Need a shower,” he ordered himself and marched into the bathroom. Afterwards, he felt perked and ready to meet the guests for hopefully the last time before they buckled up and headed back to London.

In the kitchen he only found Ben and, with a shock, he recalled more vividly what had happened last night. Ben looked up and smiled. Oakley just stared back at him.

“Good morning,” he finally managed to say.

“Coffee?” Ben offered.

“Yes. Black,” Oakley said and went for the cupboard to get some aspirin.

“Rough night?” Ben said.

“Please, don’t do that to me,” Oakley said and came to sit opposite Ben.

“Then tell me what you’d like me to do to you?” Ben responded and pushed a coffee cup closer to Oakley.

Oakley grabbed it and looked into the swirling black liquid. “Nothing. Don’t do anything to me. You’re leaving in a few hours and I could do without...”

“Without what, Oakley?” Ben asked and reached out his hand and squeezed Oakley’s slender wrist.

“It’s just futile. I don’t need this complication. I was drunk and...”

“You were telling me exactly how you felt. That’s the great thing with alcohol.”

“I don't know you, and you certainly don’t know anything about me, Ben.”

“Well here’s the thing. I’d really like to know everything about you. Oakley... look at me,” Ben asked.

Oakley looked up and shook his head helplessly. “You take up a lot of time in my mind... so please. I..”

“Is that what they call it these days?" Ben asked softly. "Look, I have to leave today, but I’d love to come back next week... if you’ll let me.”

“This is not a good thing. I need...”

“You need to feel shitty to write?” Ben grinned.

Oakley was almost tempted to nod because it wasn’t far from the truth. However, his moody scripts weren’t exactly selling. “Fine. If you must interrupt my life so blatantly. Just don't _tell_ anyone.”

“What? I can’t call The Sun and ask them to come and take pictures of us?” Ben laughed.

“Well, you can call them, but don't tell anybody else,” Oakley joked.

“We have a deal then?” Ben asked.

“Deal,” Oakley concurred with a smile.


End file.
